Office Live trademark stoush heads for court

Stephen Withers
Monday, 26 February 2007 05:45

IT Industry - Strategy

Microsoft's getting embroiled in another intellectual property case, this time over the Office Live trademark which a Los Angeles based company registered in 2002 after using it since 2001.

Office Live LLC operates a number of websites delivering free advice from professionals in areas such as law, medicine, accounting and psychology. It also provides web-enabled marketing and virtual office services to professionals.

Although Office Live LLC filed its suit in December 2006, it delayed serving the papers on Microsoft to allow time for negotiations. The parties failed to reach an agreement when they met earlier this month.

The Washington-based software giant has cast doubt on the legitimacy of Office Live LLC's trademark, and said it will vigourously defend its use of the Office Live moniker.

Microsoft's position is that its use of the word 'live' is a commonplace one, as used in AOL Live, Vodafone Live and Xbox Live. However, the company has lodged multiple applications to register Windows Live as a trademark, suggesting it wants to have its cake and eat it too.

The case will be heard in the US District Court of Central California.